Until the present, the customary treatment of comminuted intertrochanteric fractures of the hip has involved open reduction and internal fixation with some sort of nail and plate device. The elderly patient (octagenarian or physiological equivalent) presents special problems where this conventional type of treatment is used. The required six months non-weight bearing period following operation is not only exceedingly difficult when the elderly are ambulated but osteoporosis and other poor quality bone problems allow frequent fixation failures.
Accordingly, the primary objective of the invention is to provide an improved prosthesis to be used in the replacement initially of the comminuted intertrochanteric fracture fragments in the elderly so that very early weight bearing and early ambulation can be achieved. The fear of loss of fixation due to multiple post-operative management problems is precluded by the use of the prosthesis and attendant surgical method embodying the invention.
Other features and advantages of the invention will appear to those skilled in the art during the course of the following detailed description.
Some examples of the known patented prior art are contained in the following U.S. Pat. Nos.: 2,719,522, 3,740,769, 3,320,951, 3,793,650, 3,512,184, 3,814,089, 3,656,184, 3,843,975.
In the prior art, the D'aubigne-Leinbach prosthesis was designed to replace only a small portion of head and neck and has an extremely short neck component making function of a trochanteric fracture replaced hip poor and tending to dislocate the prosthesis. The Austin-Moore prosthesis, as well as other femoral head prostheses such as the Thompson, the Charnley-Mueller prosthesis and Bechtol prosthesis are all designed for the replacement of the femoral neck only and rely upon the greater trochanter being preserved. All of these prostheses, likewise, have been designed for the use in the replacement of fractures of the femoral neck and the replacement of head and short portions of the neck in pathological conditions only, and thus are not suited for the purposes of the invention, where the prosthesis must replace the femoral head, neck and greater and lesser trochanters.